Who's Who

Benefit for Kyle Simmons



Kyle Simmons has been a Las Vegas resident for the past 2-1/2 years from Gulfport, Mississippi. After Hurricane Katrina, he decided to relocate to Las Vegas. He has been with Anthem Country Club in the Golf Shop for the past 2 years. Kyle loves the game of golf, has played since he was a teenager in Gulfport with his Dad, Frank. Besides golf, he loves music and enjoys playing the drums. He attended LSU and is an avid fan of the LSU Tigers!

As some of you may or may not know, Kyle has just completed 8 weeks of radiation and 6 weeks of chemo. Hopefully, he is cancer free but will not know the prognosis until April 14th . Kyle has a very strong body, which has truly been a benefit for him during his treatments.

Tommy Rocker's Bar & Grill is hosting a benefit for Kyle on Sunday, April 20th starting at 6:00 p.m. at 10050 S. Eastern (located behind Chili's in the Smart & Final Center).

If you are not familiar with Tommy Rocker, there really is one, he has been in Las Vegas for many years and has a great rock & roll band. He will play at Kyle's benefit around 9:00 p.m. There will be door prizes, raffles and Tommy Rocker's is donating the food for the event. Linda and Rick Moulton are working with Steve, Manager of TR's in obtaining the prizes. We need your help in donating items for the benefit. Any item will be appreciated, golf bags, dinner for 2, Spa certificates, golf shirts, car wash, even a "Renewal of Vows" at the Las Vegas Hilton Wedding Chapel, however, we need more. This will be a fun and beneficial event. Kyle will attend and hopes to see all of his Anthem friends. Bring your friends with you, "The More The Merrier"!


Krista Vance



Krista Vance is a wife and mother of two sets of twins. She is the creator of healingautism.com and her website generates enormous interest. She spends hours on the phone in discussions with people across the nation who are also parents of autistic children in order to detail Jamie’s healing, and nurture their “second wind.” Through her experiences, she is able to suggest doctors and recount the combination of therapies she used for Jamie. Through her availability to those who seek her experience, as well as the information provided on her website, she helps and motivates others to make positive life changes.



She is a member of Autism Today and FEAT (Families for Effective Autism Treatment) and she supports Autism Research Institute and the DAN protocol. Currently, she is in the process of establishing a foundation to fund protocols of biomedical medicine for families of autistic children who need financial support. Her articles have been published in Organic Family Magazine, Alternative Medicine Magazine, and The Well-Being Journal.

Krista invests much of her time to focus on the ongoing research of umbilical stem cell treatment with the goal of helping recover her daughter from Cerebral Palsy. In addition, she continues her life-long study of the impact of nutrition and environmental factors on health and wellness.

Both Krista and her husband, James, are managing partners of the Snowed Inn Corporation which owns and operates seven businesses. It is important to her to give back through a variety of philanthropic organizations and participate in numerous fundraising events for not only autism, but also diabetes and cancer. She enjoys the relaxation of down time by playing tennis and spending time with her family.



Who is Krista Vance?

Part girl, part woman, a wife and a rockin’ mom with two sets of twins. Yes, as in four, altogether, two at a time. “Oh, my goodness!” is right! But, make no mistake - it is awesome, definitely awesome! You might guess, and I can confirm it, that I have been completely consumed by my children these past nine years, because, of course, I completely adore them. But, I will tell you about my angels in just a moment.
Before I was a wife and a mother, my life was very, very different. For one, I actually got some sleep! And, although my life with four twins definitely has its share of drama, my life prior was filled with a different kind of drama.

I grew up with every privilege in Montecito, California. But I was a magnet for adventure with a carefree and wild childhood. I left home at 15 to live in New York and work as a model. For the following eight years, my life was a whirlwind, which included six years in my early 20’s of living a glamorous and decadent life in L.A. while working as an actress. But a spontaneous ski trip to Park City, Utah led me to James, a simple, laid-back Mormon college student, and this turn of events changed my life forever. And I didn’t know it then, but the trials of my younger years were my best preparation for motherhood.

I became a mother after being graced with my first set of twins, Jack and Jamie. Everything seemed perfect until Jamie was diagnosed at 18 months old with autism. This rocked my world! The doctors suggested that I learn to accept his diagnosis as incurable. But it wasn’t in my nature to accept limitations, especially when those limitations offered no hope and no alternatives. My background led me to first question the nature of the problem. My mother raised all of us with an advanced knowledge of nutrition and its influence on the functioning of the body and mind. I began with this foundation while pursuing additional resources to research biomedical and alternative treatments. I believe there is an undeniable connection between the body and the mind and I knew the secret to Jamie’s healing was concealed within this connection.
All those things they tell you about never giving up are true. I am living proof of it. I believed that I could help bring Jamie back from autism. My pursuit was relentless, no distance was too far to travel, and no stone was left unturned. I exhausted myself, sacrificed my health and taxed my marriage as I drove on in search of the answer. And through a bit of trial and error, I orchestrated the different treatments, supplements, and nutrition that freed Jamie from his illness.

Yeah, you read that right. I completely recovered my son from autism…what an incredible ride it was. And I’m not done yet. In fact, I’m just getting started! I am the creator of healingautism.com a website that shares Jamie’s story. I am also in the process of writing the book version of Jamie’s recovery. I felt compelled to tell about Jamie because an incredible woman who recovered her son from autism twenty years earlier originally inspired me. I believed that if I could help even one person, my story would be worth telling.

In addition, our organization, Healing Autism, is in the process of establishing a foundation to fund protocols of biomedical and alternative medicine for families of autistic children who need financial support. Through my website healingautism.com, I also continue discussions with other parents of autistic children, detailing Jamie’s healing, directing them to the appropriate doctors, and nurturing their “second wind”. I support Autism Research Institute and the DAN protocol. My articles have been published in Organic Family Magazine, Alternative Medicine Magazine, and The Well-Being Journal. All this, and I still have time for tennis and shopping.

Yes, I’ve had more drama than I ever could have hoped for. And, I might have been a little crazy but I still wanted another child. In fact, make that a double. Another set of angels! Gabriella and Sofia touched my life three years ago, right when I thought life couldn’t get any better.
Recently, I have invested my time in ongoing research for stem cell therapies as my next adventure leads me to recovering Gabriella from cerebral palsy.
Every morning I wake up and acknowledge that I get a choice about how I will feel today. And everyday, I am filled with love and gratitude for my children and my husband. I can’t help but giggle and laugh out loud, realizing just how lucky I am.

Love and laughter
Krista
www.healingautism.com

ABOUT MOM FROM HEALING AUTISM WEBSITE

Being the mother of a child with any disability is immensely difficult. It's hard to describe or even find the right words for all the emotions that surfaced. It overwhelmed me. In almost every article that I've ever come across, there is rarely a mention of what goes on behind the scenes of an autistic child's family, especially with regard to the mothers – first, for what we go through to bring these children into the world, and second, for what we do to give them the best possible life we can.

I want to let my mom know how grateful I am for her and what she went through having my sister, my brothers, and me. She sacrificed so much for us. I appreciate how my parents raised me, how they stuck by me and gave me love and support through all of the trials and tribulations I went through in my young life. Thank you.

Through genetics, I was lucky enough to receive an incredibly strong will and ability to persevere. Thanks, Mom! However, I also learned how to “hyper” stress about things. Thanks, Mom! :)

As I said, dealing with Jamie's autism was overwhelming. Problems with his breathing meant numerous trips (twenty-two) to the emergency room, most of the time in the middle of the night. So, in addition to not sleeping, I was overly stressed about my son's life. Jamie did not sleep through the night for more than four years. His internal problems caused him to wake numerous times screaming each night. After he started sleeping through the night, I still couldn't sleep because I would wake up several times each night with my heart pounding, waiting for something to happen. My adrenal glands became completely overworked and after several years of this, I developed adrenal fatigue. Even after time passed, I continued to feel really bad. It was difficult to explain to the doctors how I felt. At times it was so bad I felt like part of me was dying.

With my health disintegrating, I had to find help for me. This came only after I felt like Jamie was well on his way to recovery. I went from one doctor to the next getting blood tests, checking to see if I had some weird disease. I went to an endocrinologist in Denver and was told that I was just depressed. I tried to explain that I didn't feel depressed, but I was given a prescription for an antidepressant anyway. An internist said the same thing and also wanted to prescribe an antidepressant.

Finally, I went to a psychiatrist and told her the story. She said she thought I was anxious and needed a drug to calm me down, maybe a low dose antidepressant. I thought , Well, I guess I'll try one and see what it does. It was called “Serzone” or “Nefazodon.” ( Sale of this drug has been discontinued.) After taking it I thought I was going to jump out of my skin. I was dizzy and more anxious. It was terrible. I never took it again.

When we were working with Bill Cunningham, I told him about my experience. He said he knew someone who could figure out what was wrong with me -- Dr. Gary Klepper. At my first appointment, he did some initial tests. When he came back into the room and sat down to go over the test results with me, I asked him if he thought I was depressed or crazy. He explained clearly that I was neither and showed me that my body was just very tired and burned out. Dr. Klepper confirmed that I had adrenal fatigue and low cortisol levels. He suggested that we start slowly to restore my health by rebuilding my body from the cellular level through acupuncture, supplements, cranial sacral therapy, and homeopathies. It took awhile, but after about six months, I was feeling really good. I will always be grateful to him for what he's done for my family and for me.

What I learned is that it's hard to find the best doctors who won't just tell you to take an antidepressant. We need doctors to look deeper for answers. If we start taking drugs, we take one, then two, then next thing you know we're taking one drug for another drug. Pretty soon we're drug junkies. Sometimes it's just a matter of needing a good night's sleep, or a date night with your husband, or dinner out with a friend, or maybe you just need exercise. I know all that can help because it worked for me -- along with a doctor who prescribed things that were beneficial to the body.

Finding doctors who knew about autism and how to help me was very difficult. Most doctors had the attitude that you were unlucky and there was nothing you could do about it. This led me to putting a great deal of effort, practically every waking moment, into finding doctors who understood and could do something to help us. It was very frustrating running into so many roadblocks at a time when I didn't need any more. Not many people or doctors shared my same attitude about the ability to change what afflicted my son. I wanted people on my team who felt the same way I did and truly believed that I could get Jamie back. I really learned to listen to my instincts at that time because it meant sometimes not listening to well-educated and well-intentioned people who didn't share my same vision or same beliefs about my ability to help my son recover.

This time was also very difficult financially for our family. We spent thousands and thousands of dollars finding the right people and the right places to help Jamie. No place was too far to travel. No treatment was too costly not to consider. Most of us just don't talk about this to our friends or family, but it can be a huge burden and difficult to survive. To use our medical insurance, the doctors had to be “in the network.” As you might expect, about 95% were “out-of-network” so unfortunately we didn't get a lot of coverage from our insurance provider. For example, our insurance covered thirty sessions of speech therapy and occupational therapy combined…per year! Just one session per week still meant that our insurance covered only ten months a year. With Jamie, we did therapy four to five days per week, so you can imagine how quickly the costs began to accumulate. Fortunately, our insurance did cover hospitalization and pediatrician appointments.

On top of your financial burden, can your marriage survive? The focus of your world completely shifts and the only important thing becomes getting your child well. Our marriage took a back seat to everything -- dates, alone time, and romance. If we hadn't made the decision to seek out a marriage counselor we both liked and could work with, our marriage wouldn't have survived. James and I have worked very hard over the past five years with our counselor, Lynn Heitler, rediscovering the love and intimacy of our relationship. She has been a tremendous help in keeping our marriage together. She is amazing.

This is a small picture of what we've been through. I wanted to write a little about myself because I think many families can relate to our story and perhaps it will give other families hope that they can make it through these extraordinary events.

In my twenties, I thought about having children, but I was too busy with my career. When I was around children, I felt like I didn't do very well with them, nor did I think they liked me. I honestly didn't think I would be very good at being a mom.

When I met James, I started a completely different career. We worked very hard to accomplish our goals for a business. During the five years before Jack and Jamie were born I lost three pregnancies, and at that point I thought I would never have children. I believed fate was telling me I wouldn't be a good mom. Then I discovered Dr. William Schoolcraft, a reproductive specialist, who was instrumental in helping James and I conceive our boys. I never imagined that I would have twins, let alone know how to take care of two babies at once. There better be a book , I thought. Once Jack and Jamie were born, my motherly instincts kicked in. That lioness that everyone talks about being within mothers really did come out in me.

Although this has been one of the most difficult times in my life, I have grown more in the past seven years than I had in my entire life. And after everything I went through with Jamie, I still wanted one more child. Dr. Klepper must have given me the wrong diagnosis. I was crazy! Again, thanks to Dr. William Schoolcraft, I was blessed with another set of twins, girls this time. In preparation for that pregnancy, I worked with Dr. Terry Grossman to do a mercury detoxification through use of glutathione and DMPS. I knew I didn't want to pass on any mercury toxicity to any future children I would have.

Wow! I thought my experience with Jamie was hard. During the pregnancy with my daughters, I had a placental tear complicated by placenta previa that lasted the entire seven months I carried the girls. I was on complete bed rest for seven months. What a nightmare this was for me. I couldn't help but feel ‘why me?' After everything I'd already been through with Jack and Jamie, I thought I'd already “paid my dues.”

The story has a happy ending… or better said, a happy beginning. At thirty weeks, ten weeks early, my beautiful daughters, Sofia and Gabriella, were born. They remained in the NICU for ten weeks while I visited every day with Jack, Jamie, and James. It filled my heart with joy to see Jack and Jamie so proud to be big brothers. Jamie seemed to handle his new role as older brother very well. We were all excited to bring them home. Jamie and Jack are very kind and loving to their sisters and they help Mom whenever they can.

Life has been quite incredible and I am still recovering. I eat healthy and do the best I can to speed up my recovery. Everyday I get up and make a choice about how I will feel today. Everyday I am completely filled with love and gratitude for my children and husband. I can't help but giggle and laugh out loud everyday realizing just how lucky I am.

I don't want to overlook my husband and all of the other husbands and fathers out there. We all take different roles in our marriages and that's a good thing. My husband, James, has always been incredibly supportive in everything I chose to do. He may have thought I was a little “out there” at times, but he still stood by my side. I will never forget what he's gone through with me. Together we made it.
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